5 Old-School Rap Songs That Sample Led Zeppelin

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Hip-hop's probably not the first thing to come to mind when you hear the words "Led Zeppelin," but the occult kings of the classic-rock era have played a huge role in rap music's evolution. The same transcendental combination of Jimmy Page's epic riffing, John Paul Jones's earth-quaking low end, and (especially) John Bonham's artillery-like drumming that made them heroes to several generations of headbangers has also made them irresistible to beat-makers, who sampled them with abandon back in the days before doing so involved five-digit clearance costs and the threat of lawsuits. Here are five classic tracks that prove these four old white hippies from England have had a bigger impact on hip-hop than you may have suspected:

Beastie Boys, "Rhymin' & Stealin'"

The two-bar break that opens "When the Levee Breaks" is one of the most monumental pieces of rock drumming ever recorded, and one of the most widely sampled pieces of music ever, having appeared in songs by everyone from Eminem and Dr. Dre to New Age artist Mike Oldfield and Sophie B. Hawkins. Few have used it as effectively — or as blatantly — as Rick Rubin did on this Beasties classic.

Schooly D, "Signifying Rapper"

The best-known use of Zep's strings-heavy Orientalist fantasy "Kashmir" may be Puffy's "Come with Me" from the soundtrack to the 1998 American Godzilla reboot, but a decade earlier NYC hip-hop icon and proto-gangsta rapper Schooly D used it to better effect on a breakthrough song that explicitly laid out hip-hop's connection to African folk traditions. Two years after that, David Foster Wallace would borrow its title for his little-known treatise on rap music.

Ice-T, "Our Most Requested Record"

A potent reminder of just how weird rap music could be in the days before it fully crossed over into the mainstream, this 1987 Ice-T track is part song and part skit that sends up some of the rap trends of the day and boasts one of the least convincing Michael Jackson impressions ever committed to tape. It also features Jimmy Page's lead from "Whole Lotta Love," which is to guitar riffs what "When the Levee Breaks" is to drums.

Lords of the Underground, "M.O.N.E.Y."

While "Stairway to Heaven" seems more suited to dorm-room troubadours than gritty street-level MCs, a chopped-up sample of Page's acoustic guitar combined with good old boom-bap drums form the backdrop for this grimy cut by the Newark, New Jersey, trio whose 1993 single "Chief Rocka" remains a quintessential example of the '90s East Coast sound.

Salt-n-Pepa, "A Salt with a Deadly Pepa"

Before they found crossover success with "Shoop" and "Whatta Man," Salt-n-Pepa carved out a reputation as an all-female crew that could rap as hard as any dudes on the scene. On the title track of their 1988 LP, they handle a stomping drum break from Zep's weird 1973 prog-funk hybrid "The Crunge" with ease.